Emergency Medicine Topics
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Code Melancholia: A Review of Depression for Emergency Physicians
Although the formal diagnosis of depression seldom is made in the emergency department (ED), emergency clinicians must understand the nature of depression and be prepared to deal with its complications, including suicidality and the toxicity of many antidepressant medications.
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Suicide Assessment and Disposition
During the past 20 years, suicide has become recognized as a major public health concern. Focused medical assessment and suicide risk assessment in the emergency department can help determine whether a mental health consultation is required and whether patients need hospitalization.
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High Altitude Medicine: A Review for the Practicing Emergency Physician
The recognition and treatment of high altitude illness is within the core content of emergency medicine practice. High altitude illness represents a spectrum of clinical entities, ranging from common and benign acute mountain sickness to life-threatening high altitude pulmonary edema and rare but potentially lethal high altitude cerebral edema.
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Management of Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are complex injuries that the acute care physician must be prepared to assess and manage. In addition, an understanding of potential systemic effects from inhalation of toxic components in fires is critical to guide management. The authors provide a timely review of the critical aspects of assessment and management of burn patients.
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The Influenza Virus: Winter Is Coming
Influenza is an acute respiratory illness responsible for significant seasonal epidemics each year. Despite commonly being a self-limited illness, the virus causes significant morbidity and mortality. During the winter months, emergency physicians should maintain a high suspicion for influenza in patients presenting with an acute febrile respiratory illness.
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Limb Ischemia and Gangrene
Although many cases of extremity pain are the result of mild, self-limited issues, ischemia and gangrene are catastrophic causes of pain that initially can present with nondescript findings. To limit tissue loss and optimize patient outcomes, emergency physicians must be able to distinguish benign limb pain from the earliest stages of high-risk, life- and limb-threatening disease.
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Not All Round Rashes Are Ringworm: A Differential Diagnosis of Annular and Nummular Lesions
Although rashes are not usually an emergency, it is common for emergency physicians to see patients come in with a rash. Sometimes the rash is new onset, and sometimes it has been present for a while and refractory to treatment.
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Ocular Trauma
This review will help the practitioner to be more comfortable evaluating and treating a patient with a traumatic eye complaint and understanding when to involve ophthalmology and with what urgency.
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Adverse Reactions to Cannabis and Cannabinoids
Understanding the potential reactions that can occur from cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids can help emergency physicians recognize these effects in patients who may present to the emergency department.
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Syncope
Relying on the most current literature, this article discusses the causes of syncope and syncope mimics, provides the best practice evaluation strategies, and will refamiliarize emergency physicians with current state-of-the-art practices regarding syncope risk stratification guidelines.